Reserved For Two
by paulacole
Summary: McKayKatie Brown fic. DO NOT READ IF SAMJACK shipper or at least don't read and then complain. Constructive feedback welcome.
1. Chapter 1

Reserved for Two 

This is my first Atlantis/McKay fic, so please be nice, it takes me a few fics to get the characters right!

_Also, if you're a Sam/Jack shipper, don't read this fic, or at least don't read it and then email me to complain. I hated the way TPTB executed that relationship and nothing you can say will convince me otherwise. If you read this warning and read ahead anyway, it's your own bloody fault if you get offended. Please not flaming._

_Set after Duets. And I am in no way affiliated with MGM, the SciFi channel or anyone affiliated with Stargate. If I were, I'd be writing scripts, not fanfiction. I write for my own pleasure and anyway, I'm a poverty-stricken student, it's not worth suing me over._

Doctor Rodney McKay sat on his bed in his quarters, having been OK'd to leave the infirmary. Strangely enough, it was kind of lonely without Laura Cadman in his head. Whoever would have thought? The woman had driven him nuts but he'd kind of gotten used to her – and then she'd grown on him.

And to her credit, if it hadn't been for Laura, he would never have gotten to kiss Katie Brown. Automatically his fingers went to his lips. He could swear he could still taste her, although he knew there was no scientific reason for it.

And, he reminded himself happily, she had kissed him back – or, rather, she had kissed _Laura_ back on account that technically, it had been Laura who had kissed her – but she hadn't known that, not at the time… and she had kissed him back.

She had kissed him back!

Of course, he had no idea what to do now. Women were not exactly McKay's forte. He tried, God knew he tried, but he always came off the wrong way. He didn't know what he was doing wrong but he always did it.

Sighing, he thought of Samantha Carter. Now _there_ had been a disaster. He still felt a twinge of resentment towards the woman whenever he thought about it, which was why he didn't think about it much. Being told by the woman you had a massive crush on that your duties as gigolo were done, now leave were always a blow to the ego.

There was a knock on the door, and Rodney looked up to see Katie in the doorway. "Hey," she said. "I came to see how you're doing."

Although he hadn't done it consciously, she took the way he shifted over slightly on his bed as an invitation to sit down. She liked to think she knew Rodney better then most, and she knew the subtle ways he had let her know he was interested in him. Like sharing his personal space, which he probably wasn't even aware of.

"Fine, fine," he said. It was all he could think to say even though inside he was grinning from ear to ear over it. Katie had come to see him! She must be a little concerned about him, which meant she had to care! "Uh, thanks for coming to ask."

"I had some free time," she said. She took the plunge. "And… I wanted to see you."

"To see if I'm OK," Rodney said, never one to appreciate subtleties.

"Well, that, and… I wanted to see _you_. I, um, wanted to say… I really liked being with you on our date, even if it was somewhat… unusual circumstances."

"I really liked being with _you_," he said. He lowered his eyes to his lap, playing with his fingers nervously. "I was really ticked that things worked out the way they did… I was looking forward to… being alone with you." It took some effort to admit his feelings, and he hoped she knew what he meant.

She did. "That's OK," she said. "We can do it again sometime… just the two of us."

He nodded. "I'd like that." Impulsively, he reached out to squeeze her hand slightly, then let go of it.

For a few seconds they sat in silence before Katie said, "There's something I want to know and I don't want to ask Laura, she'd be so embarrassed about it – "

"You want to know who it was who kissed you?" Rodney asked. He'd been afraid this would come up. He'd wanted Katie to keep thinking it was him… but you didn't get to go to Atlantis by being stupid, and the possibility that it could have been Laura would have occurred to anyone with a few IQ points after not too long.

Katie nodded. "Yeah," she said.

Rodney was sorely tempted to lie. It wasn't like Laura would ever admit to it. But he couldn't bring himself to do it. "It was Laura," he admitted, then he added hurriedly, "but I really wanted to. I was so nervous I didn't know what to do and I was making a complete ass of myself and –"

Katie cut him off by kissing him on the cheek. "I just wanted to know if you'd wanted to kiss me, or if it was all Laura," she said. She blushed. "I like you a lot, Rodney. I didn't want to get my hopes up."

The words were magic to Rodney's ears. Closing his eyes, leaned over to kiss her quickly on the mouth. "I like you too, Sam," he said without thinking.

He opened his eyes to see the look of horror on Katie's face and he realised what he'd said. He quickly got off the bed and stormed out of his room.

Rodney followed her. He couldn't believe he'd been so stupid, he didn't know what he'd been thinking. Oh yeah, about Samantha Carter and what a user she was. Heightmeyer would have a field day over that little incident and his general attitude towards women. Thankgod no-one knew about it, although there were times when someone gave him a ribbing about his crush on her and how she would never give him the time of day and he wanted to scream the truth to the rooftops.

"Katie, c'mon, come back," he begged. "Please, we need to talk."

Reluctantly, because she liked Rodney a lot and wanted to hear something decent enough to make up for the fact he had just called her _Sam_, Katie followed Rodney back into his room. "Please don't tell anyone about that," he begged plaintively.

"You think I'm going to tell people that you were kissing me and thinking about Colonel Carter?" Katie asked. She had a little more pride then _that_. She noticed Rodney looked agitated. She was too nice a person not to be a little concerned. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"You can't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you," he said.

"OK," Katie said easily.

"I'm serious," he insisted. He was looking increasingly agitated.

"I won't tell anyone," Katie said seriously.

Rodney took a shaky breath. "Sam and I slept together once," he admitted. "Well, it was three times, but it was one night so I don't know if that counts," he rambled.

"I thought Colonel Carter and General O'Neill were together," Katie said. That the Colonel and General were secretly dating was one of the worst-kept secrets in the Stargate Command, although it was still technically an unofficial thing.

Rodney rolled his eyes. "I know that _now_," he said. "She chose not to tell me that until the morning after. Please don't interrupt me again. I've never told anyone this and I'd much rather just forget it."

Obediently, Katie shut up and let Rodney tell his story. The night before he'd gone to Atlantis, he'd screwed up the courage – well, part McKay courage, part Corona courage – to go and tell her how he felt about her. He'd always had a huge crush on her and since he was going to the other side of the known universe she might treat him with a little less contempt then she usually did.

So he had showed up at her doorstep and thankfully, she had been alone. She spent so much time with her SG-1 team members, and if one of them had seen him, they would have kicked his ass all the way to the Pegasus galaxy, Stargate be damned. "Uh, Sam…" he'd mumbled when he saw her, all his brilliant and witty lines evaporating in his head. Suddenly that six pack of Coronas took their effect. "I just wanted to say, um, that I really like you and, um, I'm sorry if you got the wrong impression of me… I really like you and I'm going away tomorrow and…" he trailled off when she continue to look at him. He'd always been fascinated by those pale blue eyes of hers… and her short blond hair… and her brilliant mind that almost matched his. "Sorry," he mumbled when she didn't say anything. "This was a bad idea." He had turned to go.

"Rodney, wait," Samantha called after him. He turned back around to face her. There was a smile playing on her face. She had never seen that side of Rodney before and it turned her on more then a little. That, and he wasn't exactly sore on the eyes, underneath that lab coat was a decently built-up body, and she imagined he would be good in bed – men who's nature it was to reduce sex to a scientific art always were.

She wasn't disappointed. He was a little surprised by how aggressive she was, this was a woman who had frequently called him a chauvinist, a jerk, inhuman, and much worse, but she was all over him, and he wasn't one to complain.

It had been spectacular. As Samantha had suspected, he knew his way around the bedroom because he'd taken to sex as a science – and as the brilliant scientist that he was, he'd perfected the artform. Three times, he had made her scream his name over and over and shake uncontrollably in his arms. It had been euphoric, and not exactly a disappointment for Rodney, either.

After the third time, he'd been foolish enough to tell her he loved her. She hadn't said anything, just purred contentedly and settled into his arms, so he'd taken that to mean she appreciated the sentiment, even if she didn't share it. And that was OK for Rodney. After all, it wasn't like he cared about her enough to stay on Earth. He considered it the best possible way to spend his last night on earth.

Until the morning, at least. He'd been woken up by her prodding. "McKay! Wake up! I need you to get out of here! Jack'll be over in an hour."

Needless to say, being woken up so rudely was not a pleasant experience after such an incredible night. And what was with McKay? Last night it had been 'Rodney' – very loudly. Smiling to himself as he curled under the covers, he wondered if the police had gotten any complaints from the neighbours.

Samantha left for a few moments, and came back to dump a glass of ice-cold water on his face. That got the effect she'd wanted – he was up and spluttering indignantly. "What the hell was that for?" he demanded.

"I need you to leave," Samantha repeated as if she were talking to a child and not a fellow astrophysicist who was even more brilliant then she was. "Jack will be here in an hour."

"And?" Rodney asked irritably. "Embarrassed to admit we slept together?" he jeered.

"Jack and I are together," Samantha retorted. "We have, uh, an arrangement. Because we're apart so much. And he's coming over in an hour. And he will kill you if he finds you here."

She certainly knew how to kill the moment. There he had been, making an absolute ass of himself telling her how he felt about her, and she'd just wanted to get laid. "You could have told me that last night," he said, a little sullen.

"I'm telling you now," she said coldly. Damnit, was he going to make a scene? Why couldn't he just leave it be. "Look," she said, trying a different tack. "We had a great night last night. Why don't we leave it at that?"

She was trying that let's-be-friends crap, and Rodney wasn't having any of it. "I get it," he muttered angrily, getting dress as quickly as he could. The less time he had to spend in this house the better. It occurred to him that if Jack and Samantha really were together then they had had sex _in this bed_ and that was something that made Rodney's stomach churn in disgust. "I was a convenient lay."

"Don't be like that," she said.

"What? Don't remind you that you cheated on your boyfriend?" he sniped. Samantha looked like she'd been slapped to hear the truth put so bluntly. Clearly, she'd never had this trouble with her other one-night stands. Or maybe she warned them first. Either way, Rodney wanted to get out of here as quickly as possible. In a matter of minutes, his one-night stand had become sleazy and tarnished. He was sure there were plenty of men out there who considered it a great thing to be Jack O'Neill's fill-in for the night – sex with Samantha Carter and none of the relationship hassles.

Rodney McKay was no such man. He got plenty of crap because he had no respect for women, but it was more like he didn't know how to act around them. And while he wasn't above a one-night stand before he left for the other side of the known universe, he _was_ above a one-night stand with a woman who had 'an arrangement' with her boyfriend. He should have stayed at home.

"Make sure you have a shower and change your clothes before you show up to the base," Samantha called after him as he left. "Jack will be able to smell me on you."

"Go to hell," he called back to her. That was the last he had spoken to her ; at the embarkment, he'd sullenly ignored her in what everyone assumed was an infatuated man moping about losing his Great Love. Hardly. He'd be happy if he never saw her again.

Unfortunately, that had proven harder then he'd anticipated. Hey, he'd always had a weakness for blonds. It had taken him the better part of a year to forget about Samantha. It had helped when Katie had arrived. They had immediately hit it off, even if he was awkward about it. But she had always managed to see what he was getting at. And she'd never treated him like something she'd scraped off her shoe… or someone who was good enough to sleep with when her boyfriend was away…

"… So that's what happened," he finished stiffly. For the whole time he'd refused to meet Katie's eyes, instead staring at some arbitrary point on the wall.

She looked at him closely. "Rodney, are you crying?" she asked.

He sniffled. "No. My eyes are just… irritated."

"That's almost as good as 'I passed out from manly hunger'," she said with a playful smirk that wasn't making fun of him in the slightest.

"You heard about that one, huh?"

Katie nodded. "Yeah. I thought it was cute."

Rodney sniffled again. "Women don't like cute, except as friends," he pointed out. Women liked rugged, daring, adventurous. Women liked Jack O'Neill.

Katie reached out to touch his cheek gently. Clearly, he had taken Carter's rejection of him hard. He'd had a crush on her for two years and must have thought all his dreams had come true when she'd come onto him, only to be informed in the morning that he was merely a stand-in and could he please shut the door behind him. Katie got the feeling Rodney was a lot more sensitive then he was given credit for, especially when it came to women. "I like cute," she said softly.

He looked at her uncertainly, and she knew she was going to have to make the first move. She leaned over to kiss him.

Somewhere at the back of her mind it occurred to her that it had definitely been Laura kissing her the other day. It took him a moment to react and when he kissed her back he was very tentative, very unsure of himself.

"What?" he asked suspiciously when he caught Katie smiling. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No," Katie said. "I was just thinking that… it was definitely Laura who kissed me." She noticed that wounded look in his eyes when he'd spoken about Carter was coming back and she quickly clarified, "you weren't as aggressive." No need to tell him that by the same token, he could have been a little less _apprehensive_, too. She figured she could work on that.

"Aggressive is bad?" Rodney asked.

Katie nodded, smiling. This was going to take some time, but she had a feeling it would be worth it. "Aggressive is bad," she confirmed.

With that, Rodney quickly – almost impulsively, before his Corona-less courage deserted him – planted a kiss on Katie's mouth. She opened her mouth to encourage him a little, meeting his tongue with hers. She pulled his right arm, which was dangling awkwardly by his side, over around her waist. Given that explicit permission, he wrapped his arm around her securely, drawing her into him. He could feel his heart start to race as he explored her mouth, using his free hand to tentatively work his fingers up her arm, her neck, to her hair. He inhaled slightly, and breathed in her scent – soap, shampoo, perfume, he wasn't sure exactly what it was but he knew she liked it. She was intoxicating.

When he was breathless he pull away slightly. He liked the way she settled into his arms of her own volition, pressing her head against his chest. He would never have had the courage to put her head there himself but _God_ it felt nice.

"I take it your heart is racing from manly excitement," Katie teased. It was quite a soothing sensation, even if it was twice what it should be. She was kind of flattered that she should have that affect on him. Who needed Don Juan when she could listen to McKay's heart racing?

"That's exactly it," he answered gruffly, patting her head casually, leaving his hand to tangle his fingers through her hair. She didn't seem to mind that he wasn't exactly John Shepherd, who Rodney was sure didn't get this excited over a few kisses. When it became apparent she was quite happy to stay in his arms – which meant she had to have forgiven him for his 'Sam' comment before – he said, "I _really _like you…Katie."

She rubbed her face against his shirt, like a cat. As far as he was concerned, she could do anything she liked so long as she stayed in his arms. "I really like you, too."

They said nothing more for a few minutes, enjoying each other's company before Elizabeth knocked on the door. "Rodney?" she called. "Can I come in?"

The moment was broken, with Katie reluctantly pulling away from him, so he called back, "Yeah."

Elizabeth poked her head in the door and wasn't entirely surprised to see Rodney with Katie. "I just wanted to see that you were OK," she said. She couldn't help adding a little suggestively, "but I see you're fine. Dinner's in half an hour." And then she was gone.

Katie pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "How long do you think until this gets out?" she asked.

"A day or so. It could be worse, it could have been Teyla. Are you – OK with that?"

"It's not what I would have liked but I suppose that's what you get in a situation like this. It's like working in a restaurant with all the revolving-door relationships, only much, much worse."

"Then… will you come down to dinner…with me?" he asked, his voice catching in his throat.

"I'd love to," she said, reaching for his hand. He eagerly took it, holding her hand tightly. He was nervous, she saw, nervous about their relationship and outing themselves. He was absolutely adorable when he was nervous, she hoped he didn't lose it too much when he became more comfortable with her. She kissed him quickly.

He looked surprised. "What was that for?" he asked.

"You looked like you needed it." She squeezed his hand reassuringly. "C'mon, let's go and out ourselves." She got up off the bed and headed for the door, pulling Rodney with her.

"Hey – you won't say anything about me and Sam, will you?" he asked, half following her and half being pulled along by her.

"Who would believe me?" she asked with a teasing, good-natured smile, seeing the good sense in breaking off from him and keeping her distance.

"You are so going to pay for that," Rodney said, his eyes dancing playfully when he thought about just how he could make her pay…

"You'll have to catch me first," Katie said, smiling playfully. She made a mental note that when she was playful he wasn't as nervous.

Of course, there was no way he couldn't give chase and still retain some semblance of masculine pride. _Silly girl thinks she knows Atlantis better then me_, he thought. It was a pursuit that lasted a grand total of two minutes and ended up with Katie being cornered on account that she didn't known Atlantis nearly as well as Rodney did.

He wrapped his arms around her securely. "You take it back," he instructed her.

"How 'bout I say _I_ believe Colonel Carter would hook up with you… because that shows excellent taste on her part… and I want you to kiss me again."

"Good enough," Rodney whispered and he kissed Katie. Already he was feeling more sure of himself around her and his kiss showed it.

They were both too lost in the kiss to hear footsteps coming up behind them, until they heard John clearing his throat to let the distracted couple know that he and Teyla were there. Rodney and Katie jumped apart. "Uh…hi," Rodney said lamely when he saw they were both smirking.

"Hi," Teyla said.

"We were just…heading to dinner," Katie piped up.

It was clear neither John or Teyla believed them but they left the new couple to their own business. "So much for Teyla not knowing," Rodney mused. He bet the woman had broken into a run as soon as she'd turned to corner to tell everyone she could find. Their 'few days' had just become a few minutes.

"It doesn't matter," Katie said magnanimously. She threaded her finger's through Rodney's hand. Gratefully, he squeezed her hand. "Let's go out ourselves," she said wryly.

Rodney was only too happy to oblige.


	2. Chapter 2

_Thanks everyone for your reviews! I had the idea to continue it last night. Oh, and sorry for the grammar and typing mistakes, I don't have a Beta, any volunteers welcome!_

Rodney was grinning from ear to ear, and had been for the past week since he and Katie had gone down to dinner. Together. Holding hands. Everyone had looked at them – he was sure Teyla, the gossip that she was, had told everyone everything she'd seen, plus a few additional details – but he didn't care.

Rodney McKay had gotten the girl. _So there_.

It had been a week, and he could still barely believe Katie was seeing him. He knew he was acting like a fool in love but he could barely contain himself. Once, when they'd been sitting down relaxing with a group of people, he'd been absently patting her hand until he realised John was watching him with a knowing smirk. He'd stopped immediately. It hadn't stopped him from thinking about it, thought.

He didn't much mind that people were talking about him, although he did mind that certain people – no names mentioned, but a certain Colonel came to mind – thought they had the right to grill him about it, like it was anyone's business but Rodney's and Katie's.

John had sided out to him one day. He had never quite forgotten Rodney's complete cluelessness when it had come to Allina's crush on him and was dying to know how far he and Katie had gone. "Rodney," John greeted the scientist in his most friendly voice, like they were old friends and not two people who's mutual respect for each other often struggled to mask their mutual dislike for each other.

"I'm not telling you anything," Rodney said quickly. John had never let him forget about Allina (of _course_ he'd known what to do _eventually_, he wasn't _that_ clueless!) and Rodney just _knew_ the only reason John was acting so nice was because he wanted to how far he and Katie had gone. Which wasn't very far, but that was none of John's business. He wondered if Teyla was talking to Katie right now.

John tried to look hurt. "Can I have a chat with a buddy?" he asked.

"Since when were you and I buddies?" Rodney asked, resenting John's assumption that just because he was nice to him, he would spill every last detail.

"Fine, fine," John grumbled. Secretly, he was a little impressed that Rodney wasn't creaming from the rooftops. He wondered how long it had been since Rodney had gotten the girl. If his pathetic crush on Colonel Carter was anything to go on, _years_. Which reminded him – "you know everyone's asking Katie how she feels about your thing with Colonel Carter."

John had hit a nerve, although he didn't know why. He wondered if Rodney was still harbouring feelings for Samantha, it was the only thing he could think of that would explain such a reaction. "It was just a silly crush," Rodney muttered darkly in a voice that said _drop it_.

John didn't drop it. "You know, if you're just doing this because you can't have Colonel Carter –"

That _really_ hit a verve. John was strong then Rodney, but Rodney took him by surprise when he grabbed John by the shoulders and pushed him into the wall. "Not that it's any of your business," he snarled, "but my feelings for Katie are real and what's more, I have no interest in Colonel Carter after –" he realised he'd been just about to blurt out about their secret rendezvous. He shut his mouth abruptly. Not only would he not choose to tell John, John probably wouldn't believe him anyway. "Never mind," he said.

_Now_ John knew to drop it. There was something dangerous in Rodney's eyes that he didn't want to provoke any further, although he was dying to know what Rodney had been going to say. Had something happened between him and Colonel Carter the no-one knew about? Nah, Carter would never go for someone like Rodney, and anyway, everyone knew she was tight with General O'Neill these days.

Letting go of John and storming off to his quarters, halfway there Rodney changed his mind and went to see Katie instead. As he'd expected, Teyla was there, trying to get Katie to talk about her relationship with Rodney and if she was OK for his long-joked about crush on Colonel Carter. Katie had refrained from saying anything but she'd been unable to get in a little jab. "I know Rodney's over her from the way he kisses me." Then a little pause and, as if she were on as completely different topic when really she wasn't, "How's John these days?"

Teyla scowled, just a little. Everyone knew she harboured a crush on the Colonel, which he was blissfully unaware of – and it wasn't because he was too preoccupied with defending Atlantis, either, because he'd found time to get cosy with an Ancient-in-Exile. Katie had just reminded her of John's lack of interest in her and pretended like she'd done no such thing. Katie could hold her own against the gossips, especially when it came to what she considered their unhealthy interest in Rodney's crush on Colonel Carter.

She was glad to see Rodney at the door. She wanted to see him and it was a good excuse to ask Teyla to leave.

Rodney sat down beside her and scooped her into a tight hug, his chest pressed hard against hers, crushing her a little. "Rodney," she chided him gently. "Not so tight. I can't breath."

He let her go a little and buried his face in her neck. He loved the smell of her, she smelled vaguely like peaches. Already, he found himself a little calmer in her presence. "Sorry," he mumbled thickly. "I just had words with John and… you make me feel calmer." Which was Rodney's way of saying he really liked being around her.

Gently she disengaged from his slightly so she was able to look him in the eye. "What did you have words about?" she asked casually.

"You. Carter. He wanted to know, um…" he trailled off helplessly. He wasn't good at talking about sex ; he'd been hoping Katie would bring it up eventually.

"He wanted to know if we'd slept together?" Katie offered. Rodney nodded. The poor guy, he was as nervous about sex and talking about it as a man – well, a boy really – half his age. It made her think he must have been _really_ desperate not to lose her if he'd told her about him and Colonel Carter. The thought made her smile to herself. "Yeah, Teyla was asking me the same thing. I turned the questions back on her and John. She didn't like it very much."

"Teyla has a thing for John?" Rodney asked, never the most insightful of men when it came to human relationships. He wondered how he could use this against John.

Katie nodded. "I told her I knew you were often her from the way you kissed me… and what was John doing these days," she admitted. It had been kind of a mean thing to bring up, but it would teach Teyla not to pry into Katie's private life anymore.

Rodney smirked. Clearly, Katie could hold her own against the gossips. "That's my girl," he said approvingly, kissing her on the forehead.

She liked the way he said _that's my girl_. She tilted her head back slightly so he could kiss her mouth. Yes, she knew from the way he kissed her that he was over Colonel Carter. Rodney McKay might be awkward when it came to women, but his heart was still in the right place.

Speaking of hearts… she ran her hand up the front of his body and placed it over his heart. She loved the way it started racing whenever he kissed her. She loved that a kiss meant so much to him.

"You like knowing you have that affect on me, don't you?" he asked gruffly when he pulled away after a few minutes.

She rested her head against his chest. "I like that a kiss means so much to you," she said. "You're not… you're not like most guys who just wanna get laid."

He kissed the top of her head. He wondered if the soap and shampoo she used came in a pack because her hair had that same smell of peaches as her skin. "Is that a good thing?" he asked a little ruefully. It had been easy with Carter because he'd been half-drunk and she'd been so aggressive, but with Katie he barely knew what to do. Well, he knew what to do eventually but he barely knew what to do between now and then. He liked kissing her and holding her but… the thought of having sex with her terrified him almost as much as it excited him. He could feel his palms growing sweaty just at the thought.

"Yes, it is," she said firmly. She knew how nervous he was about taking things further. She was no psychiatrist but she had a feeling his experience with Colonel Carter had soured him a little from sex. It was going to take a lot of gentle coaxing to get him to that point, but she didn't mind. It was nice to be with a man who's heart raced over a kiss, rather then saw it as a means of foreplay. "You don't have to be so nervous."

"I am a little nervous," he admitted, which was his way of saying there were times he was absolutely terrified. He knew Katie wasn't Samantha, but he didn't want to be rejected like that again. "I don't want to disappoint you."

"I don't think there's any way you could disappoint me," she said. The only way he could disappoint her was if he let his affections wander the way John's did when a pretty female came onto the scene – and Katie was confident Rodney didn't have it in him to play around like that. Which brought her to another thing. "Are you – are you a little worried about what people are saying… about you and Carter?"

"A little," he admitted, which meant everytime someone had brought it up he'd wanted to shout to the rooftops that Colonel Carter was a manipulative user who'd treated him like a gigolo and there was no way he'd want to be with her now – not when he had a woman as fantastic as Katie who could anticipate his every nervousness, every insecurity and cater to it. "I don't like the way everyone thinks I'm seeing you just because I can't have her. Everytime I hear it I was to blurt out the truth."

"No-one would believe you, you know," she pointed out.

"You believed me." His voice was full of gratitude but there was a hint of a sniffle there, which made Katie think it was time to steer the conversation to safer waters. Colonel Carter must have really done a number on him for him to be so prolonged and so private in his bitterness. Usually he complained loudly about whatever was pissing him off that very minute, and then had forgotten about it a few minutes later.

"I believed you because you were practically crying." She pointed out. "I'm sorry, I really wish there was a better way but hardly anyone's going to believe she slept with you." She took her hands in his, squeezing them tightly. "What's important is that _I_ believe you."

He nodded and hugged her tightly. "I care about you so much," his voice came out muffled, a combination of his face being buried in her neck and him fighting back tears. "I don't want you to doubt that."

She hugged him back. She had no doubt with a little time and patience, she could make Rodney forget all about Colonel Carter. But in the mean-time, the Daedalus was scheduled to arrive in a week with fresh supplied and take back communications and technologies, which gave Katie an idea…

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"Colonel Carter, this came for you on the Daedalus," an airman said politely, handing over a nondescript A4 yellow envelope. From the looks of it, it was fairly thin. Carter had no idea what it was or who had sent it. There was no-one on Atlantis she kept in touch with.

She opened the envelope, and discovered that 'someone' had anonymously sent a copy of the results from extensive tests Rodney McKay had had done shortly after arriving in Atlantis. She scanned the list quickly, thinking there must be two dozen sexually transmitted diseases he'd been tested for, including ones that hadn't occurred in the Western World for a hundred years and obscure strains of Hepatitis. Becket must've had a field day coming up with all of them.

Of course everything the two of them could think to test him for had come up negative, because Carter herself took precautions. The only reason she hadn't used a condom that night with McKay was because she figured the man never got laid to _have_ an STD. But still… the dirty rotten bastard, to think she had a disease! She was outraged the thought had occurred to him, let alone that he had done something about it. She had done him a goddamn _favour_ by sleeping with him, it must've been the first time he'd gotten laid in ten years, and _this_ was how he repaid her?

"Who sent you a copy of McKay's medical records?" Jack asked suddenly over her shoulder. Damn the man, she had never met someone so stealthy.

Quickly she scrunched them up before Jack saw that they were actually results for STDs and cottoned on to why someone might think to send them to _her_. They had an arrangement, of course, and she was sure Jack had availed himself of those privileges many times, but they'd had an unspoken agreement that people like McKay – anyone linked to the Stargate Command who was in a position to gossip or brag – were off-limits. "Dunno," she said casually. "Must've been a mistake."

Jack shrugged, taking Samantha at her word. "You might want to shred them then," he suggested helpfully. "I know it's McKay, but I still doubt he'd appreciate having his medical records accessible."

Samantha nodded, and Jack left to do something else. As soon as Jack was gone, she carefully uncrumpled the sheets of paper and stared at them. _The…dirty…rotten…bastard_. He had sent these to her, of course, to tell her he considered her a diseased slut. It was actually quite a mean, intelligent way of insulting a person. No-one would appreciate the implications but her.

A thought occurred to her. It was intelligent, which she could credit Rodney for, but it was almost mean and bitchy, which she _couldn't_ credit Rodney for. He was clueless when it came to people and how to insult them. He wouldn't be able to think of doing something like this.

… Suddenly, Samantha recalled a young woman she'd met briefly, who was going to be part of the reinforcements the Daedalus was taking to Atlantis. She'd been full of spunk, and quick to give as good as she got – and could give in ways that were often witty and impossible to argue with and left the object of her words slinking off. This seemed like something that was her style – what was her name. Katherine, Kathy… _Katie_. Katie Brown, Doctor Katie Brown.

Had McKay and Katie hooked up? Had he _told _her about the night os passion they had shared? He'd been pretty jacked off the last time she had seen him, vowing never to have anything to do with her and definitely not about to admit he'd slept with her. Clearly, for some reason or another he had told Katie brown about it.

Unwillingly, an image came to Samantha's head of the redhead she had a vauge recollection of shaking uncontrollably in McKay's arms the same way he'd made her shake uncontrollably. The best sex she'd ever had had been with Rodney McKay, something Jack had had a vauge notion of when it had taken her the better part of a month to get back into the groove of their own relationship.

She didn't know why she felt jealous. She'd had no interest in McKay until the night he had shown up at her doorstep, and then it had only been because he was saying such nice things and he was leaving the next day, she may as well leave him with some damn pleasant memories. Instead, _he _had left _her_ with some incredible memories… and she had thrown it back in his face the next morning. She had felt bad about it later, but the man had just refused to leave and if Jack had gotten him and found them together…

For three years, it had fuelled her ego to know Rodney was so infatuated with her. He was the guy who would never move on – that was annoying, but it was also flattering. And now he had hooked up with someone else. For some reason, that annoyed Samantha. A lot.

She knew she should leave things be. It had been risky to spend the night with McKay in the first place, and she'd only done it because he was going to the other end of the known universe the next day where there was no communication with earth – who was he going to tell about it? Only now there _was_ communication with Earth, and it was clear he _had_ told someone about it.

She decided that was the reason to go to Atlantis on the Daedalus's next run. She needed to talk to McKay, none of these stupid sending medical reports. She would make it clear she expected him to keep his damn mouth shut.

Landry was a little suspicious by her request to go to Atlantis on the Daedalus's next run on the grounds that she wanted to help McKay with his discovery and reverse-engineering of new technologies, but she seemed pretty eager, so he let her go. Jack was another story, having no idea why she would want to go to such a far-flung outpost. It had been bad enough that Daniel had been so keen, but _Samantha_?

"Please, it'll just be a few days, I'll come back on the same run," she promised. "I just want to spend a few days on the front line."

Jack shrugged. He had learnt from experience that when Samantha had her heart set on something, she had her heart set on something. Besides, there was a certain someone he'd met recently who he wouldn't mind spending a little more time with…

So Samantha went. Needless to say, Weir was surprised to see her. "I was under the impression you were desperately needed back home," she said.

"Well, since we took care of the Replicators and Anubis things have been pretty quite," she said – relatively so, at least, although these Ori looked like something to worry about. But she'd be home in plenty of time to take care of that. Right now, she had business to attend to. "I've been reading about what McKay's doing here and I'd like to work with him while I'm here," she said. "Do you know where I can find him?"

_The surprises just keep coming_, Weir thought. Everyone knew Samantha couldn't stand Rodney, it was part of the running joke about his crush on her – although people were joking less and less these days, in light of how obviously infatuate he was with Katie Brown. Katie, Weir thought, was good for him. She made him more considerate and social – although he was still as arrogant as ever, but these things took time. Weir hoped Samantha's appearance wouldn't throw a spanner in their relationship. She was tempted to sent the Colonel straight back home. A happy McKay was much more important to the greater good of the Atlantis expedition then whatever help Samantha could give him for a few days. "He's in his quarters," Weir said after a few moments of deliberation. She gave Samantha directions.

Rodney was sitting on his bed, humming to himself and going over some notes. He certainly looked happier then when she had last seen him. Samantha wondered if he was in love. Not that she cared. She was only here to make sure McKay didn't go blabbing to everyone about their night together.

Katie had had the same idea that Samantha did, in that she had wanted to see Rodney, but she had gotten to the hall that led to his room a few seconds after Samantha did. She was shocked to see Colonel Carter at Atlantis, but there was no mistaking her.

Her heart caught in her throat. She wondered if Samantha was reacting to her little joke – at the time, it had been very funny to get hold of Rodney's medical file and ship to relevant documents back to Earth. Had Samantha gotten jealous? Was she hear to steak a claim on Rodney?

Katie saw Samantha go into Rodney's room and close the door behind her. Part of her wanted to burst in and mark her territory. No way would Samantha try anything funny when Rodney's girlfriend was standing there. It was beaten by the part of her that wanted to see what Samantha would do and how Rodney would react when they thought they were alone. She pressed her ear against the door.

"Carter!" Rodney said in surprise when he saw the blond woman standing in front of him. Funny how completely indifferent he was to her now. Actually, seeing her made him wonder where Katie was. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I got your girlfriend's message," Samantha said. When Rodney looked completely blank and Samantha realised he had no idea what she was talking about, she added, "you had a whole bunch of tests done just after you got here. She saw fit to send me the results."

Slowly realisation dawned on him and he smiled to himself. He'd have to have a word to Katie about that, of course, she couldn't just go breaking into his medical records whenever she wanted, but it was a brilliantly mean thing to do. He liked that she was a little territorial. It must mean that she cared about him.

When he realised Samantha was looked very angry, he looked a little sheepish. "Yeah, sorry about that," he said. "I was a little jacked off about the time. We didn't use a condom and since I didn't know your history…"

She glared at him. "So you just assumed I was some diseased slut?" she asked. "The only reason I didn't make you use a condom was because I figured you hadn't gotten laid in ten years to get anything."

He wasn't about to sit here and let her insult him. So what if it wasn't far off the truth, she didn't have to throw it in his face. "You came all the way across the universe to yell at me over that?" he asked.

"No, I came all the way across the universe to tell you to keep your damn mouth shut," Samantha shot back. "We had an agreement."

"No, _you_ had an agreement – with O'Neill," Rodney reminded him. "Which you didn't inform me of until the day after. How the hell do you think that made me feel, Sam? I poured my heart out to you, _I told you I loved you_, and you threw me out before your boyfriend came over."

He was shaking with rage at the memory, and Samantha felt a twinge of guilt. She hadn't realised how much he'd cared about her ; she hadn't realised he had more pride to just be a temporary replacement for Jack. "I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't realise it meant that much to you. I'd thought you'd be happy just to get laid."

His eyes flashed angrily. "Well, I wasn't," he snapped. "I may not be Jack O'Neill or John Sheppard, but I'm not about to take sloppy seconds from a woman who thinks she's hot shit."

His words stung Samantha. She had expected to find Rodney happy to see her. She'd never intended to sleep with him, of course, but she had expected to find him the same old Rodney who followed her around like a puppy dog, happy to accept whatever scraps she'd deigned to throw at him. And instead she'd found a man who was still angry at the shabby way she'd treated him – and a man who had moved on with another woman.

For some reason, this new, more confident Rodney was much more of a turn-on then the Rodney who had followed her around like a puppy dog or the Rodney that had shown up on her doorstep half-drunk and treated her to the best sex of her life… she lunged at Rodney and kissed him passionately. He was still sitting on his bed, so she straddled him and began undoing the buttons of his shirt.

He pushed her away weakly. "Stop it," he ordered. "I'm not interested. I'm seeing someone else."

"I remember a time when you couldn't wait to get into my pants," she reminded him, sliding her hand down to his groin. He reacted almost instantly. God help him, but he couldn't help but remember their steamy night together. And he couldn't help but feel flattered that she had come all this way to see him…

He pushed her off violently. She fell backwards onto the floor, landing with a shriek that was more surprise and indignation then pain. "Well I don't want to any more." He couldn't believe for a second he had seriously thought about sleeping with her again. Oh, God he had a lot to make up to Katie. "Unlike _you_, I actually believe in fidelity," he said harshly. "Get out of here before I do something I regret." And he wasn't talking about having sex with her.

Samantha scrambled up and fled through the door, nearly running into Katie on her way out. Rodney paled when he saw Katie standing there. "Oh, God," he said, his stomach churning. "How much did you hear?"

"Everything," Katie admitted. "I arrived a few seconds after her, I saw her go into your room and I – I wanted to see how you'd react if you thought no-one was watching. I'm sorry, I know I was eavesdropping, but I wanted to know how you'd react to her."

She wasn't angry at him? "You didn't do anything," she pointed out.

Rodney blushed. "I… _reacted_ to her, " he said. "I – I thought about how good it had been."

"Before you told her to get out," Katie reminded him. "I don't care that you're attracted to her… I do care that you didn't do anything about it."

He gently took her into his arms. The last few weeks she had been so patient with him, he owed her some understanding. "Of course I wouldn't do anything about it. I'm not stupid Katie. You'd kill me if I cheated on you. Or worse, break up with me."

She kissed him, and suddenly it was very passionate, very hot. They had been dancing around the issue of sex for several weeks now and everytime they went to do something about it his nerves got wound up so night that he felt physically sick. But now there was no time to think, let alone get nervous. She pushed him onto his bed and they were pulling at each other's clothes frantically in their desperation to get to that point...

"I think I know what Colonel Carter came across the universe for," Katie said twenty minutes later as she snuggled up to Rodney, naked, sweaty and out of breath.

He nudged her gently. "I don't want to talk about her," he said. He lay on his back with Katie's head resting on his chest.

Slowly he began aware that Katie was shaking softly, and he knew it wasn't because of him – at least not in the sexual sense. "Hey…" he said, gently turned her onto her back and leaning over her so he could see the tears running from her eyes. "What's wrong? Did I hurt you? Oh, God, were you a…?" She seemed too old and too experienced to be a virgin, but if it had been her first time he'd never forgive himself for going too fast.

"No," she said. "It's just – when I saw Colonel Carter go into your room, I thought I'd lost you," she admitted in a small voice.

Rodney had never had a woman care that much about him and it was a shock to the system. If it wasn't for the fact she was crying, he would have assumed she was joking. As it was, he didn't know what to do. He stroked her hair and brushed away her tears. "When I realised you'd overheard our conversation, I thought I'd lost you," he admitted. "I – I – I… _really_ like you," he finished lamely.

That wasn't what he'd started to say and Katie knew it. Sex was a walk in the park compared to telling her he loved her. "It's OK," she said. "You can say it when you're ready."

He smiled adoringly at her – or at least the closest thing Rodney McKay could do to an adoring smile. "You're too good to me," he said.

She smiled back at him. "Why don't you do what you just did again and we'll call it even?" she suggested.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next day, Rodney went to find Samantha. To his annoyance, she had set herself up in his lab like she was entitled to. "Don't touch my stuff," he said with typical McKay irritability. "I know exactly where everything is, at least before you get your grubby incompetent hands on it." And he'd been in such a good mood this morning too.

"Woke up on the wrong side of bed, Rodney?" Samantha asked. From two meters away she could see – and smell – he'd taken extra care cleaning himself this morning, like he'd had something in particular to clean off…

He had the childish urge to stick his tongue out at her. He would much rather still be in bed with Katie but he'd decided this was something he needed to do. "No, actually, the point was, I _had_ to get out of bed when I would much rather have stayed there with my lover." Now, _that_ was childish but he hadn't been able to resist.

"Was she as good as I was?" Samantha couldn't resist asking, resisting the urge to scratch his eyes out – or, better yet, _hers_. This visit to Atlantis had not turned out as she had planned.

Rodney refused to indulge in this childish game, as tempting as it was. He was in a position to throw Samantha's rejection back at her… and strangely enough, he didn't care. He actually felt a little sorry for her. She couldn't be too satisfied with Jack if she'd come all this way to see him. "I want you to go home, Sam," he said evenly. "Katie and I don't like having you around."

"_Katie_ and I?" Samantha parroted. "Jesus Christ, one night and you're completely pussywhipped."

Rodney wasn't a violent man but he felt a surge of protective instinct run through him when Samantha criticised his relationship. "If you say anything like that about Katie again, and I won't be responsible for my actions," he said in a low, dangerous voice.

"Hey! You were the one who told everyone we slept together!" Samantha yelled.

"I told Katie, and that was only because I accidentally called her Sam and I wanted her to know why."

"You called her by my name?" Samantha asked smugly. So Rodney wasn't as over her as he said he was. "Doesn't sound like a very happy relationship."

"More so then you and Jack screwing around on each other," Rodney retorted. "And I only did it once. And not last night, when I made her climax. Twice," he couldn't resist adding. Yes, it was childish, but he wasn't above reminding Samantha what she was missing. God, he hoped she went home soon so she wouldn't provoke him into making such childish comments.

He sighed. "Please, Sam, go home. I don't know why you came here – it wasn't to yell at me over the STD thing – and honestly, I don't care. I just want you somewhere, anywhere else so you don't bother me and Katie."

Samantha glared at him. "I came here to be a professional," she said icily. She hated the look of pity in his eyes – he knew damn well why she'd come, damn him. "And I intend to leave when the Daedalus does."

"Good. I hope you'll stay out of our way in the mean time."

"I intend to."

Rodney left Samantha be in his lab and went to talk to Elizabeth – after being highly unprofessional and taking a three-hour detour to Katie's room. She certainly appreciated it – the fact that Rodney took time out almost as much as the sex itself.

"… If it's absolutely necessary, I'll work with her, but I really don't feel comfortable around her," Rodney told Elizabeth when he finally made his way to her office. He realised the value of having _two_ brilliant astrophysicists working together, even for a few days, but the idea of having to work with Samantha made him decidedly uncomfortable.

Elizabeth understood. If nothing else, she appreciated that if Rodney wasn't comfortable working with someone, any combined brilliance would be negated. "I understand," she said. "I didn't even know she was coming and if I'd known your history I would have recommended she stayed on Earth."

"Our history?" Rodney parroted. "What… _history_?"

Now Elizabeth looked decidedly uncomfortable. "Uh… Teyla overheard your conversation with Colonel Carter earlier today," she admitted. Rodney groaned when he realised the consequences of that particular conversation being overheard – and by Teyla, no less. He should have shut the goddamn door. "You can't really blame her, it was the best piece of gossip anyone's heard in a while," Elizabeth pointed out. "And no-one's ever going to give you crap about your hopeless crush again."

That was true enough, although Samantha would never quite live up to it. "You're remarkably sympathetic towards someone who hung you out to dry," Elizabeth pointed out, a smile playing on her lips. "Could a certain redhead have something to do with it?" If this was the influence Katie had on Rodney after a few weeks, she gave that relationship her full blessing.

"Shut up, Liz," Rodney growled. God help him, was he really becoming a fool in love? He thought about Katie and the way she smiled at him when they were alone and he decided he didn't care.


End file.
